Mystery Greens

One of the unexpected parts of getting a weekly box of local produce is... sometimes I have no idea what things are. We get to play Guess That Vegetable. Sometimes it's a question of whether some little red thing is a baby beet or a radish... or perhaps a baby turnip or a radish. After all, many of the veggies aren't grocery-store varieties. They are, perhaps, heirloom versions, or simply varieties chosen for their ability to grow well in South Texas.
The most-perplexing for me is the Guess That Green Thing. Sometimes I can't even tell whether something should be served as a salad or braised like collards. So... I nibble it. If it's bitter, braise it. If it's bitter and tough, braise it a long time. Bitter and tender? Braise it quick.

So, here I had salad-looking greens that were INCREDIBLY sour/bitter. I had no idea what they were, but... thanks to kids being kids... no time to try to figure it out. I braised. They were still bitter, but strangely were improved by some lemon juice. You'd think MORE bitter/sour wouldn't help. Well, that's what I thought anyway. But I was wrong!

Yesterday I was confronted with more mysterious greens... they looked like a combination between bok choy and collards. Strange... decided to cook them like collards, after consulting this handy site and deciding they were probably just a variation of collard greens. From that same site I deduced that last night's mystery was sorrel. That explains the sourness. After these been cooking a while I gave 'em a taste.

Spinach.

The mysterious greens... that finally prompted me to search online for a Guide to Greens were plain ol' boring spinach.

And I don't like spinach. I confirmed that last night. The rest of dinner made up for it- roasted turnips and crispy-salty-skinned chicken. The chicken caused a lot of frustration by not cooking fast enough, so I completely forgot to take pictures. Sorry.

Roast turnips are very easy, by the way... cut up somewhat small and toss with oil and salt. Then, depending on what else you've got in the oven, roast at 375 to 450 degrees for 15-30 minutes. It's hard to mess 'em up.